Causes of the triglyceride-lowering effect of exercise training in rats

Serum triglyceride (TG) levels are lower in exercise-trained (ET) compared with control rats throughout a 24-h period (P less than 0.01-0.001). To understand this phenomenon, the relationship between serum TG concentration and hepatic very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)-TG secretion rate was studied in intact rats. In addition, hepatic TG secretion was measured in isolated perfused liver and TG removal by isolated perfused hindlimbs at rest and during simulated exercise. In vivo, low TG levels are consistently associated with decreased serum insulin concentration and periodic decrease in free fatty acid (FFA) levels. At rest, with comparable FFA levels, VLDL-TG secretion was 50% lower in ET rats, proportionate to the reduction in serum TG levels. Hepatic TG secretion by perfused livers of ET and control rats was similar when studied at comparable FFA and insulin levels suggesting the fall in VLDL-TG secretion with exercise training was not the result of intrinsic change in the ability of the liver to esterify and secrete TG. Perfused muscle of ET and control rats remove TG at equal rates when perfused at rest. However, during simulated exercise, TG removal was increased only in hindlimbs from ET rats. Thus, low serum TG levels in ET rats seem to be due to a combined effect of decreased hepatic TG secretion, secondary to reduced substrate and insulin supply to the liver, and increased TG removal by muscle during exercise.